A former city employee is suing Vadnais Heights, citing a hostile work environment and “outrageous treatment” leading up to his illegal firing.

Jeffrey Thill, a former building official for Vadnais Heights, filed a lawsuit in Ramsey County District Court Monday, saying he was mistreated by a subordinate employee, that the city ignored his complaints and he was fired illegally.

“It’s more what I call a whistleblower case,” Thill said when reached by phone Wednesday.

He filed “several” written complaints with the city during his two and a half years there, starting after just six months on the job, he said. But the city “refused to do anything about it.”

It’s unclear how many complaints Thill filed, but “it wasn’t just one or two,” said his attorney, Daniel Warner.

The city did not immediately respond to a request for copies of the complaints.

In its response to the lawsuit, the city denied liability, Warner said. He did not wish to comment further.

Thill was hired as the city’s only building official in the spring of 2005. He said his primary duty was to enforce the state building code and to review various elements of the building plans that came before him, including fire suppression permits.

In his lawsuit, Thill alleges that Diane Albrecht, a permit clerk for the city, undermined his position by issuing permits without his review or permission.

Albrecht was “blatantly insubordinate,” causing a hostile work environment, the document says.

“She’s actually been verbally abusive and things like that and the city refused to do anything about that,” Thill said. “I think she feels that, this is just in my eyes, she feels that she is the dictator for that department and controls it.”

When the problems first started, Thill said he contacted previous Vadnais Heights building officials, who said they had experienced similar situations.

Despite his repeated complaints and attempts to squash the behavior, Thill said he was punished instead of Albrecht.

“They didn’t want to address the issue and instead they chose this route,” Thill said of the city. “That’s why we’re taking it to court.”

Vadnais Heights Mayor Susan Banovetz declined to comment on the lawsuit because “it’s a personnel issue and pending litigation.”

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